My journey along a new path

The God who crosses His arms

God has things in store for you that you don’t see coming. it may seem like you’ve reached your limits, gone as far as you can, but God is going to open doors you never thought would open; you didn’t have the training, weren’t next in line, but somehow you were chosen for the promotion. God has unexpected favor; He’s going to do things that we didn’t deserve.

that’s what happened in Genesis 48. Jacob was an old man, and about to die. his son Joseph was the prime minister of Egypt, second in command under Pharaoh. Joseph was Jacob’s 2nd youngest son, and his favorite; he’d given Joseph his coat of many colors, and was so proud of him. but for many years, Jacob thought Joseph was dead; his brothers had tricked their father into believing that Joseph had been eaten by a wild animal. Jacob was heartbroken. some thirteen years later, Jacob found out that Joseph was still alive, and in this position of great honor. Joseph eventually brought his father and his family to Egypt, gave them a place to live, took care of them.

Genesis 47:28-29 (NIV)28 Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. 29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph

Genesis 48:1-11 (NIV)48 … Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him… 8 When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?” 9 “They are the sons God has given me here,” Joseph said to his father… 11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”

like Jacob, you may have given up on a dream, you think it’s been too long, you’ve accepted that you’ll never get well, meet the right person, start that business. what God put in your heart, He’s not only still going to bring it to pass, but it’s going to turn out better than you thought.

Genesis 48:5-10 (NIV)5 “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine… in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers… 10 … Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.

what’s interesting is, these boys were born from an Egyptian mother. back then, the Egyptians worshipped idols; they didn’t believe in Jehovah. she didn’t have a heritage of faith; you would think God would say, “I’m not going to have anything to do with those boys. I’m not going to bless someone from a family that doesn’t worship Me.” but God doesn’t disqualify you because of how you were raised. you may come from a family that didn’t honor God, there was a lot of compromise, dysfunction; the good news is, that doesn’t have to stop you. like Manasseh and Ephraim, God is adopting you in spite of what they did or didn’t do. you may feel like you’ve been under a generational curse because of how you were raised; God is choosing you to start a generational blessing. you’re the difference-maker; you can be the one to affect your family line for generations to come.

it was extremely significant that these boys were adopted by Jacob. not only did he overlook who their mother was, but they were grandsons, not sons; they should have had to wait another generation, forty years, to receive what Jacob was giving them. normally, it would’ve come from their father, Joseph; he would’ve passed down the blessing, inheritance, that was given to him. these boys were receiving something that they didn’t deserve. this was showing us the character of God; there are things that we don’t deserve, we were off course, doing our own thing, but God Who is full of mercy said, “I’m going to reach down in spite of your past, your mistakes, what your family didn’t do, and I’m going to adopt you anyway.” Paul said in Ephesians:

Ephesians 1:5 (PHILLIPS)5 He planned, in his purpose of love, that we should be adopted as his own children through Jesus Christ

because you’ve been adopted, you’re going to come into blessings that you didn’t earn, favor that you didn’t deserve. your past is not going to limit you. how you were is not going to keep God from blessing you. like these boys’ mother, there may have been people that didn’t honor God, make good choices; God is not holding that against you. He says, “I’m adopting you anyway. not as my grandchild; as My own son, daughter.”

Joseph’s sons shouldn’t have been heirs for another generation, but because of what Jacob did, they were thrust forty years down the road. there are things that should take you years to accomplish: get out of debt, break an addiction, set a new standard. but God is going to do for you what he did for these boys; catapult you ahead. you’re going to see things happen faster than you thought; it should have taken you a generation, but God’s going to do a quick work. because you’re honoring Him, saying, “as for me in my house, we will serve the Lord,” God is speeding things up. what should have taken you your whole life is going to happen in a fraction of the time.

favor is not fair; it’s just the goodness of God. when God blesses you, don’t be surprised if some people get jealous. when He speeds things up, when you break barriers, some people won’t understand it. they’ll start talking about you; “you don’t deserve it, you’re not talented, you’re just lucky.” it’s not luck, it’s favor, God shining down on you, making things happen that you could not make happen. stay on the high road. you don’t have to convince people to like you. some people can’t handle your success. if they walk away, let them. you didn’t need them; if they left you, they’re not a part of your destiny. don’t waste your valuable time with people that won’t celebrate the blessing that God put on your life. don’t apologize for it, try to downplay it; you didn’t choose it, God chose you, said, “I’m adopting you, giving you what you don’t deserve, taking you to a new level.” wear your blessings well; it’s the favor of God on your life.

after Jacob told Joseph that he was adopting the boys:

Genesis 48:9 (NIV)9 … Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.”

in the Old Testament, the blessing from the father was very significant; what the father spoke over them in his final days carried great weight, and would affect the children the rest of their lives. the oldest son would receive a double portion; that was the tradition. the blessing the father gave with his right hand was this double portion blessing.

Genesis 48:13-19 (NIV)13 And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn… 17 When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.”

God was showing us that He doesn’t always bless the way we expect. Ephraim wasn’t next in line, he didn’t deserve it, he wasn’t born in the right position, but God bypassed all the tradition, what people thought would happen, and did something out of the ordinary. when Joseph tried to stop his father, Jacob said in effect, “I know Ephraim was born second, this doesn’t belong to him, but I’m crossing my arms on purpose, to show him favor that he doesn’t deserve.” this story is not so much about one family member getting ahead of another, it’s God showing us how He can take people from the back, that don’t have the position, feel left out, and bring them to the front. God loves to choose people that others say are not qualified, don’t have the talent, don’t come from the right family, made too many mistakes; don’t believe those lies, God is about to cross His arms, put you in a position that you didn’t earn, qualify for, you weren’t next in line. God’s going to make things happen that you didn’t see coming.

you may think that where you are now is where you’re always going to be, you’ve reached your limits. that would all be true, except for one thing; God is going to cross His arms. you keep honoring God, being your best, He will open doors you never dreamed would open, promote you even though you weren’t next in line. you’ll think, “how did I get here? I didn’t have the training, experience, connections.” here’s how; God crossed His arms.

we can all come up with an excuse to settle where we are; “I don’t have the training, connections, confidence, talent, size, personality.” God says, “I know all that. I created you, know what order you were born in.” you may not be the firstborn son, so to speak, you don’t feel like you have what you need to go further; don’t worry, God’s going to cross His arms, make things happen that you couldn’t make happen.

in the scripture, Gideon said:

Judges 6:15-16 (NIV)15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” 16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you

God said, “Gideon, I know you’re not qualified, not next in line, but I’m going to cross My arms, take you from the background to the foreground, give you influence and ability that you’ve never had.”

Samson could have said, “God, I don’t deserve Your goodness. You gave me supernatural strength and I blew it, kept giving in to temptation. now I’m blind, bound, grinding at the mill, and it’s all my own fault.” God said, “Sampson, I knew every mistake you would ever make, and My mercy is bigger than anything you’ve done wrong. yes, you should die defeated, feeling like a failure, but take heart; I’m going to cross My arms.” God blessed Sampson one more time:

Judges 16:30 (NIV)30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.

you may have a thousand reasons why you can’t accomplish your dreams, get out of that problem; God is saying, “I’m about to cross My arms, show you unexpected favor, promotion, healing, breakthroughs.” you didn’t see it coming, weren’t qualified, the next in line; it’s just the goodness of God. “I’ve got some big problems, a lot coming against me”; the scripture says:

Isaiah 59:1 (NIV)1 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save

do you think somehow God’s arm can’t reach you? you’re too far back, made too many mistakes, missed too many opportunities, have too big of problems? God’s arm is not too short to deliver, heal, provide, free, vindicate you. you’re going to see God do things that you didn’t see coming. when He crosses His arms, things are going to fall into place: good breaks, opportunity is going to chase you down.

you may not have the position, influence, reputation, confidence yet; you feel like you’re further back. that’s ok; just keep honoring God, and you will come in to this unexpected favor, promotion that you didn’t see coming.

there are some blessings that come from being faithful, doing the right thing when it’s hard, but there are times, like with Mary and Ephraim, that God has simply decided to bless you. you didn’t do anything to earn it, there were plenty of reasons why it shouldn’t have happened; maybe you didn’t make good choices, or you had a family member that didn’t honor God. but God doesn’t always choose who we would choose; God in His mercy crossed His arms, chose to be good to you, turn that problem around that you got yourself into, open that door that you could have never opened. that’s God deciding to bless you.

when God decides to bless you, He’ll show you favor, mercy that you didn’t deserve. it wasn’t anything you did; it was just God crossing His arms. God has decided to bless you, bring your family in, take you to new levels. circumstances may say it’s not going to happen, you’re not qualified, next in line; don’t worry, God has unexpected favor, promotion, turnarounds. you didn’t see it coming. it may seem like your family will never come in, or you could never set a new standard; you keep honoring God, and you will come into these moments where God has decided to bless you.

people may rule you out, tell you it’s never going to work out, but God has the final say, knows how to take you from the background to the foreground. when He decides to bless you, things are going to happen that you didn’t see coming. you don’t have to be the most qualified, experienced, from the most influential family; if you are, that’s great, God can still take you higher. but you may feel like you have disadvantages. some you had no control over; what family, nationality, social standing you were born into. like Ephraim; he couldn’t help that he wasn’t the first-born son, his mother worshipped idols, he had no say over that. on the surface, that could hold you back, cause you to think, “too bad, this is my lot in life,” but God doesn’t choose the way we choose. He’s about to show you influence, ability, opportunities that you didn’t see coming.

David said:

2 Samuel 7:18 (NIV)18 … “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?

he was saying, “I’m not the biggest, strongest, most qualified, I didn’t come from royalty, I was a shepherd, working in the fields, minding my own business, and Lord, look where you’ve taken me.” he didn’t have to go after it, it came after him; the prophet Samuel showed up at his house to anoint him king.

God has some far and beyond opportunities that are about to come looking for you. the right people are going to track you down. you couldn’t have made it happen; it’s the arm of the Lord reaching down to promote, elevate, increase you. you’re going to look back and say, “wow, God, I never dreamed You’d take me to this level.” keep your faith out there. thoughts will tell you it’s never going to happen; no, get ready, God’s about to cross His arms. you’re coming into unexpected favor, healing, turnarounds. God’s going to take you from the background to the foreground. you’re going to step into new levels, set a new standard for your family, and reach the fullness of your destiny.